Journal
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
Volume 11, Issue 9, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/app11094282
Keywords
lung cancer; solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN); microwave imaging; ultra-wideband (UWB); finite difference time domain (FDTD)
Categories
Funding
- BMBF [FKZ: 13FH5I05IA]
- grant AIRLobe - Innovative Projects MWK-BW
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study provides a preliminary investigation into the use of UWB radio technology for localizing deep solitary pulmonary nodules during thoracoscopic surgery. The results indicate that cancer localization was feasible at operational frequencies below 1 GHz and for deep nodules (>5 cm), but hindrances occurred at lower depths and higher frequencies.
Worldwide, lung cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer-related death. Detected by computer tomography, it is usually removed through thoracoscopic surgery. During the surgery the lung collapses requiring some strategies to track or localize the new position of the lesion. This is particularly challenging in the case of minimally invasive surgeries when mechanical palpation is not possible. Here we undertake a preliminary study with numerical analysis of an ultra-wideband (UWB) radio technology which can be employed directly during thoracoscopic surgery to localize deep solitary pulmonary nodules. This study was conducted through Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulations, where a spherical target mimicking a nodule located between 1 and 6 cm of depth and an UWB pulse at several frequencies between 0.5 and 5 GHz was used for localization. This investigation quantifies the influence of several parameters, such frequency, lesion depth, and number of acquisitions, on the final confocal image used to locate a cancer in the lung tissue. We also provide extensive discussion on several artifacts that appear in the images. The results show that the cancer localization was possible at operational frequencies below 1 GHz and for deep nodules (>5 cm), while at lower depths and higher frequencies several artifacts hindered its detection.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available